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And that's exactly why Friedman said they called Myers up now, saying he's made the necessary adjustments and will "fit right in" to the Rays team. Myers will play regularly, mostly in rightfield, with Friedman saying he'll "inject" another bat against right-handed pitching.

"He's going to play a lot," manager Joe Maddon said. "Of course you don't bring somebody like that up to sit around."

There has always been a lot of expectations placed on Myers, last year's minor league player of the year, since he was the key chip in the offseason trade of RHP James Shields to the Royals. But Maddon said while "outside" expectations are high, they're going to try to "ease him in," hitting him lower in the lineup and telling him to just be one of nine.

Maddon said Myers, pulled in the third inning of Durham's game Sunday, will play one of the games in Tuesday's doubleheader.

Friedman said they've deliberated calling up Myers for a while, and his recent hot streak "accelerated" the conversation. Friedman said in getting to watch him for a several game stretch a few weeks ago, he saw firsthand all the improvements he made, from plate discipline to playing really well defensively.

With the Rays 40-man roster at 39, they didn't have to make another move to add Myers.

Maddon said it was "difficult" to send down Ryan Roberts, but he handled it professionally. But with Ben Zobrist likely taking over a lot of the starts at second, with Myers in right and Matt Joyce/Kelly Johnson also in outfield, they had some depth.

Developing: The Rays have made the much-anticipated move of recalling touted OF prospect Wil Myers, who will join the team Tuesday in Boston.

Myers, on a recent hot streak with Triple-A Durham, was pulled in the third inning. He will wear No. 9.

INF Ryan Roberts will be optioned to make room.

Myers, last year's minor league player of the year, was the key piece in the offseason trade with the Royals, with the Rays shipping RHP James Shields, RHP Wade Davis and Elliot Johnson to Kansas City.

Myers was hittting .283 with 14 homers and 57 RBI in 63 games for Durham. He played only rightfield and DH.

About the blog

The Tampa Bay Rays will head into the 2015 season with Evan Longoria, Chris Archer, Alex Cobb and plenty of new faces, including manager Kevin Cash. Can they upend the Orioles in the highly competitive AL East? Come here to follow Rays news at Tropicana Field and beyond.